The Journal of nutritional biochemistry
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This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are able to down-regulate expression of adhesion molecules and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation in vascular endothelial cells, in addition to reducing atherosclerotic lesions in vivo. We report here that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) reduces atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic arteries of apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE(-/-)) mice. Consistent with the observation in animal study, DHA inhibited THP-1 cell adhesion to tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-activated human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). ⋯ Subsequently, translocation of the NF-κB (p50/p65) and AP-1 (c-Fos/c-Jun) subunits was down-regulated by DHA in the nucleus of HAECs. These results suggest that DHA negatively regulates TNF-α-induced VCAM-1 expression through attenuation of NF-κB signaling pathway and AP-1 activation. This study provides evidence that DHA may contribute to the prevention of atherosclerosis and inflammatory diseases in vivo.